Financial news

• Global postal union reaches deal to prevent 'nightmare' of US exit

  25-09-2019 21:13
  Agreement to reform UN agency’s fee structure comes after Trump administration threat and emergency talksThe UN agency linking postal systems worldwide has agreed to reform its fee structure under a proposal by the United States that averted the Trump administration’s threat to leave the global network but may mean many consumers pay more.The compromise deal was agreed by consensus on Wednesday at the Universal Postal Union’s emergency congress after two days of talks, with del
  
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• Bond fundraiser is no long-term fix for Aston Martin | Nils Pratley

  25-09-2019 21:00
  Move screams of desperation by carmaker whose balance sheet needs a proper overhaulHere comes Aston Martin with news of its “successful” placing of $150m (£120m) worth of bonds. Success, in this context, merely means the company got its cash. Everything else about the fundraising screams of desperation on the part of the borrower.Aston Martin will pay interest at 12%, a corporate pauper’s rate. A second $100m bond will have to be pitched at 15% if sales targets on the new
  
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• Thomas Cook directors could have bonuses seized, suggests Shapps

  25-09-2019 20:52
  Transport secretary outlines available options for penalising bosses of collapsed travel firmThe transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has suggested that Thomas Cook directors could have some of their bonuses seized or be disqualified from serving as directors after the tour operator’s implosion.Speaking in the House of Commons, Shapps outlined options for penalising directors available to the official receiver, a government employee overseeing Thomas Cook’s liquidation. He said the off
  
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• Global economy must be ready for downturn, says new IMF boss

  25-09-2019 20:26
  Kristalina Georgieva spoke of ‘huge responsibility’ of taking charge amid faltering growthBulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva has said the global economy needs to be ready to cope with a fresh economic downturn after being chosen to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The economist said she was taking charge of the Washington-based organisation at a time when growth was slowing, trade tensions growing and with debt at record levels. Continue reading...
  
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• Ryanair urge UK pilots to transfer overseas or face job losses

  25-09-2019 20:22
  Airline says numbers must be reduced at bases such as Stansted and ManchesterRyanair has written to UK pilots asking them to take unpaid leave or transfer to other bases abroad, saying they could otherwise join the 9,000 job losses at Thomas Cook.The airline, which reported profits of €1bn (£886m) in May, told its pilots that a “significant surplus of pilots must be reduced” at UK bases including Stansted and Manchester, and that it was encouraging them to take up to 12 mo
  
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• Monzo closes premium packaged account to new customers

  25-09-2019 19:49
  Digital bank to offer refunds after admitting Plus service is ‘not the best it could be’Digital bank Monzo has closed its fee-charging packaged current account to new customers five months after launching it and is refunding some of those who signed up.After being criticised by customers, the app-based bank said the premium service, Monzo Plus, “isn’t the best it could be”, and that things didn’t go according to plan. As a result, it is going back to the drawi
  
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• Sainsbury’s to close 70 Argos stores as part of reorganisation

  25-09-2019 19:15
  Shops to be replaced by outlets inside supermarkets as group aims to cut costs by £500mSainsbury’s is to close up to 70 Argos stores and replace them with outlets inside its supermarkets.The closures are part of a reorganisation of the retailer’s store portfolio that will also involve the closure of up to 15 supermarkets and 40 convenience stores. The group is also likely to close up to half of its 12 data centres, which house servers and other storage facilities for the group&
  
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• 'Boris bus' maker Wrightbus goes into administration

  25-09-2019 18:55
  Collapse puts about 1,200 jobs at risk and is second major UK insolvency this weekThe maker of the revived Routemaster bus and one of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers has collapsed into administration – leading immediately to 1,200 redundancies.The failure of Wrightbus, which comes after a breakdown in 11th-hour rescue talks, represents the UK’s second significant insolvency of the week, following the demise of the holiday group Thomas Cook. Continue reading...
  
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• Grant Shapps lifts sections of speech from Chris Grayling

  25-09-2019 18:39
  Exclusive: minister’s speech on Thomas Cook collapse follows text of predecessor’s 2017 statement on Monarch AirlinesIf there was a previous transport secretary that the incumbent, Grant Shapps, might hope not to imitate, it would surely be his notoriously calamity-stricken predecessor Chris Grayling.But just a few months after his return to the cabinet after several years out in the cold, Shapps appears to have followed Grayling’s example rather too closely – lifting sec
  
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• Hinkley Point nuclear plant building costs rise by up to £2.9bn

  25-09-2019 18:38
  EDF Energy blames ground conditions for rise but says energy bills will not go upThe cost of building the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation has risen by up to £2.9bn and the total bill could be more than £22bn.EDF Energy said the construction cost for Hinkley Point C in Somerset had climbed by between £1.9bn to £2.9bn from the company’s last estimates and is running the risk of further delays. Continue reading...
  
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• You never go to Pret … and 24 other signs you’ve reached financial maturity

  25-09-2019 15:36
  According to a new survey, British people aren’t fully financially mature until the age of 31. But it isn’t all about having a savings accountA new survey, by the lender Zopa, has revealed that British people don’t reach financial maturity until the age of 31. At 22 we are apparently most frivolous with our money – overspending on holidays and nights out – but by our early 30s we tend to take better control of our finances. The survey comes complete with a list of s
  
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• Aston Martin to pay steep interest rate on $150m bonds

  25-09-2019 15:01
  Carmaker will shell out 12% as it struggles to meet ambitious targets amid falling sales Aston Martin Lagonda has been forced to pay a hefty interest rate to borrow $150m (£120m) as sales fall and it struggles to meet ambitious targets.The luxury carmaker will pay 12% on the secured bonds until April 2022. If it receives 1,400 orders for its new DBX model within nine months of the $150m, Aston Martin has the option to issue a further $100m of secured bonds paying the same rate. However, it
  
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• Thomas Cook had £3.1bn hole in balance sheet before collapse

  25-09-2019 13:24
  Chief executive tells high court company also rejected seven offers for parts of its businessThomas Cook’s chief executive has revealed the travel company had a balance sheet black hole of more than £3.1bn before its collapse on Monday.In a witness statement to the high court, Peter Fankhauser also said the company had received seven non-binding offers for parts of its business under a strategic review, all of which were rejected by Thomas Cook’s board and lenders. Continue rea
  
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• Archant chief to step down and jobs to go at local newspaper group

  25-09-2019 12:17
  Jeff Henry to leave as firm stops printing own titles after more than 170 yearsThe chief executive of one of Britain’s largest regional newspaper groups is to leave and almost 100 jobs are at risk as the publisher stops printing its own titles after more than 170 years.Norwich-based Archant, whose publications include Ham & High in London and the anti-Brexit New European, is to announce that Jeff Henry is to stand down after running the business for the last five years. The group&rsquo
  
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• Try before you buy: German city offers workers a free one-month stay

  25-09-2019 08:00
  Picturesque Görlitz is offering free lodging and studio space in exchange for feedback on what potential residents want from a cityLast year Eva Bodenmüller read about a city in eastern Germany inviting people to live there for a month for free. She and her partner Carsten Borck, an artist, knew they had to leave their residence in Italy soon and weren’t looking forward to moving back to their native Berlin.“I thought: ‘Why not Görlitz?’” said Bodenm&
  
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• Co-op Bank credit card won't refund me for a faulty scooter

  25-09-2019 08:00
  I paid, but my son’s name is on the log book so it won’t meet my claim under Consumer Credit ActIn April 2017 I bought a 50cc AJS Modena scooter for my 16-year-old son. After eight months it wouldn’t start. The retailer ceased trading without fixing it. The manufacturer didn’t reply to my letter, and so I made a section 75 claim under the Consumer Credit Act to the Co-op Bank as I had paid using its credit card. But it rejected my claim as I had purchased it for my son wh
  
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